In a Dark Place
by Creator of Hybrids
Summary: *AU* Humans and non-humans- Mutants- must coexist in a cruel, desolated world. Four turtles, with no idea who the other is, must work together in order to stop the Shredder. Though easier said than done when one of your allies happens to work with him.


What ever did New York look like before the Armageddon happened?

A question Leonardo found himself asking over and over again. It was something everyone his age asked their elders. Because the world today was so much more different from how it was nearly 26 years ago. When it was once bustling with life and thriving. Now… now the world was dead. At least, the cities were. And no one dared venture into the Wild without the proper weapons and tools.

The turtle was only a year old when it had happened. The world's nations launched a full-scale attack on each other, destroying nearly everything. New York city was one of the main targets. Millions died in a single hour as a rain of mortar shells killed everyone in the streets. Leonardo was lucky. He was deep in the sewers when it happened. He couldn't remember for what or why though. So much was faint at that age. Or maybe he forced himself to forget whatever trauma happened.

Either way, when the smoke cleared and the few survivors were searching the rubble, the turtle climbed from the sewers bawling and calling for help. Luckily, a family took pity on him and took him in. As a replacement for the child they lost at school when the bombs came. He made sure he was the perfect son for them. To not disappoint them or make them regret taking him in.

Two years later, what was left of the government ordered another attack on their multiple aggressors. The little population there was left diminished even greater. Leonardo's adopted father and elder brother –Hamato Yoshi and Hamato Mashimi were called out to serve and fight. Any able bodied adult was. Leonardo and his adoptive mother were exempt; the turtle for his young age, his mother needing to be around to care for the orphans and children under her care. He never saw either his father or brother again.

Years had gone by and the next thing he knew, Leonardo was a grown adult and head of the Hamato family. His adoptive mother, Tang Shen, had died in her sleep when he was 9. His uncle, a Mutant rodent by the name of Splinter, took charge of their family and began to teach them all the ways of Ninjitsu. Splinter disappeared when he was about 19 years old for reasons unknown. For the next several years, Leonardo had to care for his siblings and keep strong in the ravaged world today.

The Mutant turtle stared out the horizon, legs hanging over a crumbled ledge. He dressed in specially made jeans and a very loose and dirtied tanktop. Strapped to his back were twin katanas that he received as a gift from his sensei Splinter, their hilts wrapped in faded blue silk straps. Wraps decorated the turtle's hands and feet, signs of constant wear visible by slight tears in the material. Around his neck was a large blue handkerchief while a pair of slightly damaged goggles sat atop his head.

Leo was a light green color with faint freckles of brown scattered along his body. Faded scars stretched along his arms and exposed plastron. There was a single scar that ran down his lip from a close encounter with one of the new mutated animals originally from the Wild. It had chanced its way into the city and attacked him and his family. The worst of the scars from that encounter rested upon his shell.

Before him was a city of ruins. Tall structures of broken metal with permanent scorches on their frames. Rubble laid battered and discarded across what were once great roads. Vegetation and weeds colored the gray and dirt with their faint green. Beyond the outer edges of the city was the Wild. The chemicals from the bombs they dropped and the radiation from the nuclear warhead they dropped at some point in Brooklyn caused the once dying wildlife to mutate and grow. No one dared go out to the Wild. Not unless you had a death wish.

It wasn't perfect, but it was home. It was all he had ever known, really. And Leo doubt he could ask for anything more. Yet the same question bugged over and over again. Begging for him and him alone to answer it. If only he could...

"Reo!"

The turtle blinked a few times and looked down from the two story building at the beckoning of his voice. Standing there in her dirty black clothing was Mi-wa, a fellow reptilian Mutant. She was a white and light magenta colored serpent with a tail instead of legs. Adorned on her shoulders were partially rusted armaments Leo had found for her during a small raid on what used to be a dojo. Even from this height, Leo could see her bright green eyes peering up at him.

"Reo!" Mi-wa called again, her Japanese accent thick in her voice. "_Ikou_. We have to go. I must show you something."

"_Hai, daun mōsugu_," he answered back in Japanese before leaping off the ledge.

Now where as a normal human would be dead or very broken if they tried something like what Leo did, a Mutant was different. Not only were their granted with quick regeneration, they were able to perform higher jumps, stronger attacks, and could withstand what would break human bones. Leo landed atop a rusted car, denting the hood on impact. Mi-wa watched with almost impatient eyes as the Mutant turtle approached, squirming in anticipation.

"_Isogu_! Let's go, Reo!" she begged as she grabbed on of his wrists and tugged it. "We have to hurry. Its almost dark."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down." Leo stumbled as he tried to pull his wrist away. "_Isogu hitsuyō nai_. Is something wrong, Mi-wa?"

Mi-wa's eyes darted back and forth and she smiled mischievously before slithering off in a chorus of giggles. Leo groaned and ran after her. She was surprisingly fast, given her large figure and lack of legs. Then again, based on the little things Leo was able to read, he did recall snakes being fast and reflexive creatures. Mi-wa was no exception it seems.

The Mutant turtle followed the serpent as she nearly disappeared behind corners and into the various holes in fences and buildings. He was fortunate that he knew this area of the city like the back of his hand as he chased after her. Years of living here and months of his late sensei beating the importance of remembering your surroundings echoed in his head. They passed by various characters -other Mutants and scavengers like them- during their chase. All of whom didn't even bat an eye at the two. These sort of things were just normal nowadays. And Leo loved it.

He recalled hearing tales and stories about how there were no Mutants before Armageddon. Or at least, none that most of the human population saw during those days. And the stories that did involve non-human life made it seem like Mutants have been living among the common populace for a much longer period of time.

The female Mutant came to sudden halt at the edge of a broken highway. Leo slowed to a stop, panting heavily as he joined Mi-wa's side. Before them was absolute carnage. More so than other areas of the section of New York Leo lived. A faded green sign hung delicately off a metal post, scratched white words barely visible to the unaided eye. Below them was rubble and the rusted cars. There were bones lying around here and there from the humans who couldn't get away from the danger in time. The smell of death still hung heavy in the air.

Cars of all sorts laid litter in the scene before them. Bones of the drivers piled in and out of the vehicles. A once gray colored van caught Leo's eye. He took a few steps forward and felt his breath hitch when he saw the contents within. A car seat and two distinct piles of bones inside. A doll in the middle of the car seat bone Mutant turtle had to take a few steps back brogue he image could sear itself further into his mind.

Leo could feel his throat tighten slightly and his stomach clench. The area that his family lived in wasn't nearly as bad as this one place. The pieces clicked and the turtle looked at Mi-wa in question. The serpent was staring at the whole place blissfully. Like a child presented with the ultimate gift. She knew what this place already and still took him here.

This was one of the heavy mortar sites.

"Mi-wa, its bad luck to be here." He hissed, grabbing her arm and tugging her in the direction they came. "We should leave."

"_Iie_." She shook her head and tore her arm away from Leo's grip. "I haven't showed you what I found. _Kuru_."

Soon after the words left her mouth, Mi-wa slithered down a downward path of rubble. Straight towards the worst of this place. Leo groaned and muttered curses of all sorts under his breath as he followed her. They really shouldn't be doing this. Hell, they shouldn't even be here!

"Mi-wa, _wareware wa koko ni irubekide wa arimasen_."

"_Udasai_, Reo." Her voice echoed from where she waited patiently for him at the bottom of the rubble path. "We'll be fine."

"And how do you know that?" He snapped. Then it clicked. "_You've been here before?!_"

"_Anata wa amari shinpai_." She stuck her forked tongue at him and slithered away again. "_Ikou_, slow-poke. You won't be able to see it when it gets dark." And just like that, her previous enthusiasm return.

They continued to traverse across the rubble, the pit in Leo's stomach growing as time stretched on. They really shouldn't be here. It was common law among the separate towns to stay away from the bomb sights. Not only were there the children's stories of the ghosts of the innocents haunting those areas, but there were also the Ghoul; humans who survived the bombings, but lived on as a living corpse of mangled flesh and bone.

Many were thankfully those vile creatures kept to the bomb areas only but there were always the exceptional few who ventured in populated towns. The first and last dealing Leo had with those creatures resulted in one of his best friends dying and a child being dragged off screaming as it was eaten alive. The child's mother was the one who delivered the final blow to the stray Ghoul. As well as to her child…

Luckily, Leo and Mi-wa had yet to run into a single Ghoul but dark was coming quick. And despite being trained in the way of the shadows, the Mutant turtle was not equipped enough to fight in pitch black. His serpentine companion, on the other hand, could see in the dark. He'll admit his envy for that ability of hers.

Mi-wa finally stopped and looped around to face him, her tail circling as if to outline something. As Leo grew close, he saw exactly what it was. His eyes widened greatly as he looked back and forth between the Serpent Mutant and the object of interest.

"I found it soon after I came here ." She explained, prodding the corpse with her tail. Her eyes lowered briefly in sorrow before lighting up with excitement. "But isn't this amazing?"

It was hard for Leo to join in with her excitement. He knelt down beside the body and brushed his hand over the open eyes, closing them. Despite looking very much like a Mutant, there was clear human features to it. He wasn't sure what gender the corpse was, given how its rather feminine face could be either sex. The clear fatal wound came from the bite mark on its jugular and even from the missing chunk of flesh where its heart should be.

It looked like a Harpy, the Greek bird demons he learned about in a torn book he found long ago. But most of this corpse's body was made up of beautiful turquoise blue and green colors with patches of skin in select areas. Humans hands sprouted from the edges of its wings and claws made up its feet rather than toes. Long brown hair flowed out from under the feathers adorned on its head.

No Mutant ever held this many prominent human traits.

"Is this some sort of…. hybrid?" Leo said aloud, hand under his chin in thought.

"_Watashi wa shiranai_." Mi-wa shrugged and joined the turtle at his side, a little more close than necessary. "It was freshly dead when I found it."

"We should bury it."

"_Iie_! It's too late for that." She pointed to the near setting sun. "Its _kiken'na_ here at dark. Very _kiken'na_."

Dammit, he didn't realize how late it was until now! He knew it was a bad idea to come down here.

Growling under his breath, Leo nodded at Mi-wa once before taking off. They would come back to bury the body later. But they needed to get back into town _now_. It was never safe for anyone anywhere after dark. He could hear the female Mutant slithering closely behind him as they ran back into familiar territory.

However, it seems their luck had just ran out. He didn't feel the tripwire until it was too late. The pair of them soon found themselves running straight into a trap and hanging several feet from the ground in a mesh net. The two of them struggled and ended up tangled in a mess of limbs and tail within the net. It didn't help that Leo was pressed right up against Mi-wa's front and unable to move away.

The pair of Mutants cursed under their breaths at their predicament before they heard the growling. Then everything –including them– went silent. Silence was never good in a world like today. Leo maneuvered one of his arms free and reached for the hilt of his katana blade. He may be trapped in a net but he was not without his weapons.

Emerging from the shadows of a broken down building warehouse was one of the biggest Mutants Leo has ever seen. Dark olive green, reptilian, and gifted with a long snout full of teeth on his face, the new Mutant gator stalked forward towards its catch. Leo could feel Mi-wa's tail constricted around his legs in anticipation. The Mutant sniffed the air and came close to the net, staring directly at the two. The eyes were covered by a thin white membrane, the slit of the pupil darting around as the Mutant gator studied its catch. It gave one last sniff before backing away.

"You ain't no food." It said in its deep rumbling voice, a cajun accent accompanying its words.

The white membrane over the hostile Mutant's eyes disappeared and was replaced by jade green irises. The Mutant gator turned away and disappeared the same way it came. Not a moment later, the net went slack and the pair of Mutants went crashing down. Leo was the first to get up, rubbing at the arm he fell on before offering his hand to Mi-wa. An unnecessary gesture but a kind one still.

"You two better get goin'." The gator Mutant's face stuck out partially from the shadows. "Dem Ghouls like to come out at dis time o' night."

To emphasize his point, an inhuman shriek cut through the air. Both Leo and Mi-wa's heads whipped towards the origin of the screech. It was close!

"We won't make it back in time." The Mutant turtle stated. He then turned to the gator. "Do you know-"

"You may stay da night, yes." It slipped back into the shadows. "Follow me."

Leo took a step forward when a hand grabbed his arm. He looked back to see Mi-wa's pleading eyes. They held a silent message of warning in them. Just as the serpent opened her mouth to say something, another Ghoul shrieked somewhere in the distance. Much more closer than the last. The turtle gave him a comforting look and took her wrist. Then they followed the gator into the shadows.

Translation:

_Ikou _- come on

_Hai, daun mōsugu _- okay, be down soon

_Isogu_ - hurry

_Isogu hitsuyō nai _- no need to rush

_Kuru_ - come

_Wareware wa koko ni irubekide wa arimasen _- we shouldn't be here

_Anata wa amari shinpai_ - you worry too much

_Watashi wa shiranai _- I don't know

_Kiken'na _- dangerous


End file.
